Temple of Apollo in Didyma is the most impressive single monument on the west coast of Ionia. The oracle’s earliest recorded prophesies date to the 6th centure BC. This early phase in Didyma’s history ended when it was sacked by the Persians in 494 BC. Didyma remained silent for 150 years until Alexander the Great arrived, when the dry fountain of prophecy gushed to life and the oracle announced that Alexander was the son of Zeus, a result which pleased him so much that he retrieved the cult statue of Apollo from Persia and ordered the building of a new super-temple, which can still be seen today.